News

Frederick County Government Buys Property

Post Date:08/27/2019 12:05 PM

Frederick County Government Buys Property

Frederick County has acquired the retail center known as Sunnyside Plaza at the intersection of Route 522 N. and Route 37.

According to Charles DeHaven, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, “Space at 107 N. Kent Street has become an issue. We knew it was just a matter of time before we would need to do something to alleviate the crowded situation and there is really no option to create more space. It’s exciting that we will have more office space in Frederick County.”

The center has 70,614 square feet and currently is home to 5 tenants. Tenants have been notified of the sale and have been advised that all leases will be honored. It is Frederick County’s intent to work with the existing tenants during this transition of ownership to make this process as least disruptive as possible for those tenants and their respective customer bases. Virginia Property Group will provide property management services and will serve as the point of contact for the current tenants. As we begin design and renovation of the existing vacant spaces to accommodate county departments, we will work with VPG, as property manager, to ensure the lines of communication remain open with the tenants.

“There is a real need for additional space for personnel currently in our building at 107 N. Kent Street. We’ve made every effort to maximize the use of existing space by putting up walls and making storage closets into offices, but we’ve reached capacity,” according to County Administrator Kris Tierney.

A space needs assessment will be conducted, and staff has been asked to consider their current space needs and needs into the future. An architect will be hired to assist in evaluating the space needs and how to best utilize the newly acquired square footage. Renovations will need to be done to take the facility from retail space to office space.

The property purchased for $2.1 million following an online auction through the Ten-X platform. The County assesses the center at $6,215,792 and currently receives $18,778.54 in real estate tax revenue. There are approximately 380 parking spaces.